Industrial Electrical

Partial Discharge

Partial discharges (or PD for short) are the small electrical sparks found within the insulation of medium to high voltage electrical systems. Partial discharges are caused by electrical breakdown and discontinuities within the insulation of an electrical system. Over time, partial discharges erode the insulation, and may even cause insulation failure – which is actually the leading cause of total electrical failure. Findings in the IEEE Gold Book show that other components of an electrical system are greatly impacted from insulation failure, too. In addition to the insulation, partial discharge testing will determine the health, performance reliability of cables, splices, terminations, switchgear, power transformers and bushings, and motors and gears.

Partial discharge testing is then done to help asset managers, technicians, and the companies they work for diagnose an electrical system and insulation before an unexpected outage occurs. Advanced Test Equipment Rentals carries partial discharge test units for both long and short-term rent. Browse our inventory of partial discharge test equipment from top manufacturers like OMICRON, Hiptronics, Biddle/Megger, and more.